Valheim Developers Say Paid Mods Are “Against The Open And Creative Spirit Of Modding Itself”

Valheim is one of the biggest indie hits in recent memory, spawning a loyal playerbase and a thriving mod scene. Developer Iron Gate clarified in a recent Steam announcement that the team behind the game does not condone the practice of paid mods, which they feel is “against the creative and open spirit of modding itself.”

To clarify, Iron Gate is specifically talking about the practice of keeping your mod behind a paywall, in part or in its entirety. The team say that they support voluntary donations to mod authors, but that they are wholly against mods that require payment to access.

Iron Gate also clarifies a few other aspects of Valheim’s mod scene in the Steam post. The studio notes that the game currently lacks any official mod support, meaning that all mods for the game are installed at the user’s own risk, and that those mods may not be compatible with newer versions of the game. The developer also stated that it would appreciate if mod authors would include some sort of message indicating that their mods are unofficial, especially given that players often join servers that force them to download mods without the user realizing it.

Valheim was recently added to Game Pass back in March, making it a great game to try out if you subscribe to that service. We also consider it one of the best games to play on your Steam Deck.